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08 Spring 2022 MEMBERSHIP NEWS Coventry City Council has become the latest local authority to invest in a JCB PotholePro following a successful trial of the road repairer. The Uttoxeter-manufactured machine was put through its paces by the council last summer when it repaired more than 100m2 of road in just two hours – an area the council says would normally take four days to fix using traditional methods. It has now bought its own machine to help maintain more than 550 miles of road in the city. Its first job was to repair a 40-metre stretch of road, which was one metre wide, in The Hiron, Cheylesmore, Coventry. The task was completed in an hour, with a permanent fix, compared to a whole day using established techniques. Stoke-on-Trent City Council became the first authority in the UK to invest in one of the repairers last year and has since repaired 10,000m² of road with its machine in just over four months, an area equivalent to eight Olympic sized swimming pools. Using traditional methods, this task would have taken 1,040 days or almost three years. Coventry City Councillor Richard Brown, Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “This is a solid investment in an impressive machine. It is a game changer and is a great example of how we are using innovation in the way we provide services.” Councillor Patricia Hetherton, Cabinet Member for City Services at Coventry City Council, added: “Innovations like this are really important. We’ve almost 900 kilometres of road to look after, so anything that can speed up the process of repair and maintenance and save money is a win-win. The highways team are really pleased about the way it is working.” Nick Beardmore, one of the Council’s PotholePro operators, added: “It’s a powerful machine and really does make a massive difference.” The development of the JCB PotholePro has been personally led by JCB Chairman Lord Bamford. He said: “I’m delighted that Coventry City Council is joining other authorities across the UK in investing in the JCB PotholePro, which is exceeding expectations with its speed and productivity.” Tests with local authorities and contractors show the JCB PotholePro completes a permanent pothole repair in under eight minutes – equivalent to up to 250m2 a day or 700 potholes a month. THE JCB LiveLink telematics portal has been updated to include full integration with the what3words global location system. The what3words system maps entire globe into 3m x 3m squares, giving each location a unique three-word reference. The addition of what3words functionality to JCB LiveLink means every machine connected to the system can instantly be pinpointed to a specific location at any time. The system makes it possible to identify an exact location without a postcode or a street address. For JCB equipment – which regularly works on sites without post codes - it is simple to use what3words with LiveLink. With a single click, the what3words location of any machine is shown. This integration benefits not only the customer, but crucially it aids JCB dealers and service technicians in locating the machine, and also helps police forces in the recovery of stolen machines. It is used internationally by emergency services, such as mountain rescue teams trying to locate an injured hiker, where they are far from a road and certainly without a postcode. Launched in 2011, the system now monitors more than 300,000 machines through an online portal and mobile app. JCB LIVELINK SIMPLIFIESMACHINE LOCATIONWITH WHAT3WORDS COUNCILS IMPRESSED BY ROAD REPAIR TIME SAVINGS